Humanitarian engineering
More than 750 million people globally live in extreme poverty. For billions of people, basic infrastructure services are out of reach.
Our aim is to develop appropriate and affordable engineering solutions for developing communities to confront emerging and escalating challenges such as migration, climate change, and urbanisation.
Using interdisciplinary methods that are grounded in fieldwork, we’re developing new theory of sustainable infrastructure and technology in resource-constrained environments, focusing in areas such as water and sanitation, shelter, energy, and transport.
Our research
Our cross-disciplinary research is unpacking systems at the nexus of engineering, public health, economics, and the social sciences, while our collaborations with industry partners are translating this knowledge into practice.
We focus on the application of engineering and technology in four contexts:
- engineering in developing communities
- disaster response and recovery
- conflict and stabilisation
- remote areas and Indigenous communities
Our expert: Dr Aaron Opdyke
Our partners: University of the Philippines Resilience Institute, Universitas Syiah Kuala Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center
Funding agency: Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research
Understanding flood risk can be challenging in resource scarce contexts.
This research aims to transform disaster risk assessments by understanding how climate change will impact localised flood risk and unpack how these assessments can be better incorporated into local planning processes in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Results will inform strategies to improve the resilience of resource-constrained communities.
Our expert: Dr Jacqueline Thomas
Our partners: Edith Cowan University, Fiji Ministry of Health & Medical Services, Fiji National University, World Health Organisation
Funding agency: Australia Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade
Water-borne diseases are endemic in Fiji with 20 reported typhoid outbreaks since 2005, an outbreak of dengue affecting 27,000 in 2013–14 and a three-fold increase in leptospirosis since 2016. This project is developing and testing real-time mobile tools to optimise water, sanitation and catchment management to reduce the incidence of outbreaks. It will also train cross-sectoral teams to improve outbreak response and minimise the impact of water-borne diseases.
Related story: University of Sydney wins $4.5m in DFAT grants
Our expert: Dr Jacqueline Thomas
Our partners: Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA)
Funding agency: UK Department for International Development
Only 10% Dar es Salaam’s four million people are connected to a sewer network. This is typical of many cities in developing countries. Our project aims to evaluate the implementation of four Decentralised Sanitation Systems “DEWATS” developed by BORDA. These sanitation systems are designed to treat waste from on-site sanitation (septic tanks and pit-latrine). The systems recover resources to produce methane gas for cooking and bio-solids for agriculture.
Our expert: Dr Aaron Opdyke
Our partners: Ateneo de Manila University, Mindanao State University Marawi
Funding agency: Sydney Southeast Asia Centre
Over 350,000 people were displaced from Marawi City in the Philippines following the conflict between Maute rebels and government forces in 2017. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced each year in the wider Manila metropolitan area due to flooding. This project is exploring household sheltering pathways for internally displaced persons (IDPs) to unpack how informality shapes household decision-making in urban crises.